Zomato Foodie Meet Up at Banzai

Luckily I was chosen to be part of the food bloggers meet up at Banzai organized by Zomato Philippines. Zomato is an online and mobile application where you can find different restaurants according to place, types of cuisine or budget. This is a great help for any foodie like me because it gives users info about the menu and the cost so you can be ready to budget your money and you already know what to expect or order because of the ratings and reviews of the other users.
Ms. Elaine Taningco the community manager of Zomato told us that they really arrange a foodie meetup every week to give thanks to those people who uses the Zomato app. and for this week they chose Banzai to be the venue. So Yeah! I'm so lucky not just because it is free but also I was given the chance to meet other bloggers like me!

Banzai is a Japanese buffet restaurant where you can discover a lot of authentic Japanese dishes like sukiyaki, ramen, tempura, yakiniku, takoyaki, katsu, sushi and sashimi, teppanyaki which is the signature meal of the restaurant and so many to mention jap dishes!  The name was actually Banzai: The Great Teppanyaki Theater because they feature skilled teppanyaki chefs who are putting up a fire cooking show and some knife exhibition. I learned that this restaurant also belongs to the High Jap Group whom they also own the famous restaurants: Sumo Sam, Mr. Kurosawa, John and Yoko, Teddy Bigger Burgers etc. 

Foods:

Here are some photos of the food that I ate at the restaurant (sorry I did not take all the pictures of it)

Tempura, Takoyaki, Kani Salad, Spicy Tuna, Bacon Kani, Spicy Salmon, Kilawing Tanigue 

California Maki, Salmon Maki, Kani Nigiri, okonomiyaki, Gyoza

Choco Tarts, Pudding, Mango Cake

Among my favorites were Tempura, Squid Okonomiyaki, California Maki and Salmon Maki, They Tasted good as I expected but Kani Salad is a must try! I am not a veggie lover but I love crabs! Eating this won't make you feel like your eating veggies, It's like your eating shredded kani with a twist.

Eating Tips: You should not eat the sushi first because it has rice you will get full easily! This was also an advice to us by the branch manager Ms. Leah Estrada while we were having a tour in the restaurant.

Here are some of the dishes you must try at Banzai:

Teppanyaki (Teppanyaki means grilled or pan-fried in an iron griddle) 

Pork, Beef Chicken and Seafood Teppanyaki

                             

Tempura (Battered and Deep Fried)

Salads with some seafoods

Sushi

 

Katsu (breaded and deep fried meat cuts)

Gyoza (Pork, Beef, Chicken)

Bacon Kani

Veggie Bacon

Tonkatsu

Chicken Karage

Roasted Duck and Chicken

According to Ms. Leah around 5 percent of the foods were being served are other Asian cuisines like Chinese, Mongolian, Thai etc. They also serve Japaellas on weekends only.

Ambiance: Staying here feels like you were really in Japan also Ms. Leah told us that as much as possible they bought the interiors of the restaurant in Japan especially the lanterns, so the customers will feel that they are being transported to Japan. 

I also recommend this place for any group meetups like business/client meeting or family reunion because even a lot of people eats here you can still feel the privacy of each tables for the reason that the place is not too noisy. They can accommodate up to 350 pax and if there is a special events they can even make it up to 500 pax.

They also have a Trick Art Gallery where the guest can take photos of themselves with costumes! When you took photo here it looks like it is real. They have 3 background settings ninja temple, sumo arena and japanese market. Every saturday and sunday they took photos of their guest and put it in a frame serves as a souvenir.

Staffs: Chefs and staffs were very friendly you can approach them if you have questions regarding the food, I find them very skillful and talented they have other performance aside from the teppanyaki performance every weekends. 

I will definitely go back to Banzai since their dishes were really tasty plus the ambiance and staff were great. It is something your money worth spending for.

Rates:
Monday-Friday (Lunch, public holidays not included)  --  P699
Monday-Friday (Dinner, public holidays not included) -- P899
Saturday-Sunday-Holidays                                             -- P1088

Buffet for Kids
below 4.5 ft --P499
below 3.5 ft --FREE

Left Over Price -- P1299

Restaurant Details:

Banzai: The Great Teppanyaki Theater
Bldg. J, SM By The Bay Leisure Park, Seaside Boulevard, Mall of Asia Complex (MOA), Pasay City
For inquiries and reservations: 0916-3775357/ 0999-4713597/ 552-7368